Local Musicians Headed to National Trumpet Competition

Professional trumpeter & instructor Matthew Kim

Matthew Kim is an award-winning trumpeter who has performed at a number of premier venues — including Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Seoul Arts Center.

While he continues to perform professionally, Kim is also mentoring the next generation of trumpeters at his Irvine-based music studio.

This year, seven of Kim’s students competed in the U.S. National Trumpet Competition. Remarkably, all seven students have advanced to the semi-final round, which will take place in mid-March at the University of Iowa.

The students who will competing in the Solo Division semifinals are:

From left: Changbyung (Alex) Lee from Portola High School,
Tony Juhan Lee from Orange County School of the Arts,
and Jungbyung (Jayden) Lee from Cadence Park School

The students who will be competing as the Southern California Youth Trumpet Ensemble are:

From left: Yuhwan Shin from Northwood High School,
Brandon Yoon from Orange County School of the Arts,
Claire Sim from Troy High School in Fullerton,
Ryan Choi from University High School,
and Changbyung (Alex) Lee from Portola High School

The members of the ensemble team have also been selected as University Young Artist Fellows at Pacific States University in Los Angeles.

Congratulations to Matthew Kim and these seven talented young musicians! We will be rooting for each of them as they head to Iowa in March.